How Does OpenJDK 14 Stack Up Against Java 8? Benchmark Results Revealed

Introduction

OpenJDK 14 was recently released as GA, prompting developers to ask whether its performance has improved compared with earlier releases, especially OpenJDK 8. This article examines the performance of all major OpenJDK versions from 8 through 14 across a variety of workloads.

Test Methodology

Each JDK version was tested using the same Java bytecode compiled program and the reference upstream build of the software package. Apart from swapping the OpenJDK x86_64 Linux build for each version, no other options were changed. The Phoronix test suite was used, covering benchmarks from SPECjbb to Java 2D.

Java 2D Benchmark

Text‑rendering performance improves steadily up to version 12, peaks there, then declines to the levels of versions 13 and 14, which are similar to OpenJDK 8. Image‑rendering performance remains roughly constant, with OpenJDK 14 holding a slight edge.

Vector‑graphics rendering shows a similar pattern, with performance staying essentially flat across versions.

SciMark Micro‑benchmark

OpenJDK 8 is the fastest; versions 9‑14 perform at roughly 88 % of OpenJDK 8’s speed, showing little change.

Java Bork Encryption Test

Performance remains essentially unchanged across all tested versions.

DaCapo H2 Benchmark

Since OpenJDK 8, DaCapo’s H2 benchmark (modeled after JDBCbench) has shown noticeable improvement, with OpenJDK 14 regaining a slight lead.

Jython Pybench

OpenJDK 8 again achieves the best scores among the tested releases.

Daytrader Tradebeans

OpenJDK 14 once more secures a marginal advantage.

Renaissance Scala Dotty

Performance fluctuates, but OpenJDK 14 outperforms the most recent versions in this test.

Other Renaissance tests show OpenJDK 11‑12 performing worst, while OpenJDK 14 matches OpenJDK 8.

Jenetics + Futures

All versions exhibit essentially identical performance.

Apache HBase Benchmarks

OpenJDK 8 runs the fastest, with other versions showing comparable speeds.

SPECjbb

OpenJDK 8 is by far the quickest; from version 11 onward performance improves modestly, but on an AMD Ryzen 9 3950X running Ubuntu Linux, no version surpasses OpenJDK 8. OpenJDK 14 ranks second overall.

Conclusion

When taking the geometric mean of all Java benchmark results, OpenJDK 8 is unequivocally the fastest Java version. This aligns with industry observations that OpenJDK 8 still delivers the best performance, explaining why distributions like Clear Linux continue to favor it. OpenJDK 14, however, emerges as the second‑fastest release among those tested, showing modest but consistent progress over its predecessors.